


Missing Puzzle Piece

by Marks



Category: Free!
Genre: Canon Compliant, Coming Out, First Kiss, Kissing, M/M, Season/Series 02, Sort Of, SportsFest, bad at feelings, maybe a tiny bit of unrequited reigisa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-25
Updated: 2018-07-25
Packaged: 2019-06-16 07:24:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15431970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marks/pseuds/Marks
Summary: "So why are you upset?""Because I thought –" Rei snapped his mouth shut and his whole face went red, like he was holding in a secret that had to come out one way or another. "Because when I joined the swim team, I thought he was like me. I thought it was nice having a friend that I had something in common with."





	Missing Puzzle Piece

**Author's Note:**

> Written for SportsFest 2018, Bonus Round 3: Superlatives. From hydehog's prompt: "Rin/Rei, Most likely to be the Gayest: Rei." The prompt was for Rei, but hoo boy, Rin's really giving him a run here. Takes place in S2, no Free! knowledge beyond that is really needed!

Rin watched, arms crossed over his chest, as Rei swam a fifty meter backstroke, hit the wall, and swam the fifty meters back to him.

"That was good," said Rin as Rei pulled off his swim cap and shook out his hair.

Rei nodded, but didn't say anything, moving toward the wall with his chin lowered. Usually, even that little bit of praise would have Rei laughing and declaring how beautiful his form was.

"Are you upset about something?" Rin asked tentatively. He was still getting used to the helpful captain thing, and hell, Rei didn't even go to his school. Still, he was his coach and coaches were helpful or something, right?

"No," said Rei, and Rin let out a breath of relief. Then Rei said, "Yes," and Rin tilted his head. Then Rei shook his head and said, "Maybe."

"Maybe?"

"Maybe," Rei agreed. "Nagisa-kun has a girlfriend."

Rin tilted his head the other way. "Nagisa does?"

"Yes!" Rei threw up his hands and then brought them down, sending a shower of water into Rin's face. "It makes no sense. None of the theories add up."

"Rei, I know that Nagisa's kind of a lot, but I can see why girls would go for him. He's pretty cute and friendly and –"

"I know that!"

Rin was getting tired of tilting his head. "So why are you upset?"

"Because I thought –" Rei snapped his mouth shut and his whole face went red, like he was holding in a secret that had to come out one way or another. Rin floated closer and put a hand on Rei's shoulder, squeezing it; they both looked at Rin's hand and, if anything, Rei went even redder. "Because," muttered Rei, "when I joined the swim team, I thought he was like me. I thought it was nice having a friend that I had something in common with."

Rin was so confused. "You do have something in common with Nagisa, Rei," he said. "You have the swim club. And you have a whole year together left! I wouldn't worry about a girlfriend taking that away."

One corner of Rei's mouth quirked up. "Rin-san, your swimming is beautiful and I admire your coaching skills, but I don't think you get it. Thanks for trying, though." At that, he hoisted himself out of the Samezuka pool and walked away, leaving Rin clueless and confused.

*

Rin mostly forgot about their conversation after a while. Their next couple of lessons were uneventful and Rei took any successes in his typical way, boasting about learning all the theory and calling the form of his new strokes beautiful, until he didn't even need lessons with Rin anymore. It was easy to write that one day off as just that -- one off day.

One day, Rin dropped in on an Iwatobi practice one day, just to see how everyone was doing. "Hey," he said, tapping Rei's shoulder. Rei jumped a foot in the air, clutching his chest even after he whirled around and realized Rin was standing there.

"Rin-san!" he said. "What are you doing here?"

Rin shrugged. "Just wanted to make sure you haven't forgotten everything I taught you."

Rei pushed up his glasses importantly. "Of course not," he said. "If anything, I've improved on everything we worked on together."

Rin laughed hard at that, a grin stretching across his whole face. He didn't get it, but a blush spread across Rei's cheeks and he looked away, pursing his lips. Haru was just getting out of the pool then, his arms in a full stretch and chest heaving as he tilted his head up to the sky, making Rei look in another, third direction where Nagisa and Makoto were talking together in their swimsuits, their heads tilted toward one another. Rei seemed to give up then and looked down at his feet.

"Are you and Nagisa okay?" Rin asked. "You know with... his social life and all."

Rei looked up again then, a little smile playing on his lips. That was good. Better. Rin couldn't look away from it, in fact, which was strange. "We're fine. I just had to get used to the idea. But when you say it like that, it makes him sound like he's running an underground host club."

"Shut up," Rin said. Then he grinned and leaned in conspiratorially. "Not gonna lie, I'd like to see that."

Rei leaned in, too. "So would I." His little smile turned into a big grin then, and Rin found himself swallowing involuntarily. 

"Well, when that happens, make sure you invite me along."

Rei stared at him, then sucked in a quick, sharp breath. "It's a date, Rin-san," he said, all on one exhale, then jumped into the pool.

Rin was left staring after him and wondering why that made the hairs on his arms stand up.

*

“Have you ever had a girlfriend, Sousuke?” Rin had his hands folded behind his head as he stared up at the underside of the bottom bunk.

“Yeah,” Sousuke grunted.

Rin sat up so fast he bumped his head against the other bed. “What, really?”

Sousuke twisted around in his desk chair and laughed at Rin rubbing at the top of his head. “Yeah, really,” he said. “Why would I lie about that?”

“Dunno,” Rin said. “What happened?”

“The usual stuff, I guess. I thought she was cute, so I asked her out. We went out on some dates, we kissed sometimes, and it turned out we didn’t have much in common. Why are you asking?” Sousuke’s voice suddenly went sing-song. “Do you like a giiiiiiiirl?”

Rin made an offended sound “No! I just – I haven’t. It’s never really occurred to me before.”

Sousuke shrugged. “I don’t think that’s a big deal. You’ve been pretty focused on swimming, and I transferred out of a co-ed school.” He grinned. “It’s pretty hard finding a girl to date when you go to an all-boys school, don’t you think?”

Rin lay back down and went back to staring at the bottom bunk. “I guess,” he said, unsure, but something about that didn’t sit right with him.

*

A couple of weeks later, Rin decided to be a good son and went home for a visit. After greeting his mother and picking up Steve as the day’s weightlifting training, he headed to Gou’s room to say hello.

“Gou,” Rin called as he walked down the hall, “your favorite brother is here.” 

“You’re my only brother,” she called back.

“I’ll get you for that,” Rin said. He framed himself in her doorway, eyes widening when he realized she wasn’t alone in her room. Rei was kneeling at the small table in the middle of her room; Gou’s swimming muscle books were spread out all over its surface. They both shot him huge smiles. 

“Rin-san!” Rei said. It was a breathy exhalation, reminiscent of their last conversation at Iwatobi. And just like that time, little goosebumps broke out all over Rin’s skin. 

“I didn’t know you had company,” Rin said. “I’ll come back later.”

Gou and Rei exchanged confused looks. “You can sit with us,” Gou said. “We’re not doing anything important.”

“No, it’s okay,” Rin said, backing out of Gou’s room. “I don’t want to be a bother.” He turned on his heel and headed to his own room, leaning on the back of the door to shut it.

Were Gou and Rei dating? It made sense; Nagisa had a girlfriend now and Gou was always with the swim team as their manager. That seemed like a natural way for feelings to grow and Rin couldn’t think of a nicer person than Rei. Plus, Rei was in really good shape from all the swimming; he had all those muscles that Gou went crazy over – great abs, defined back muscles, strong legs. Rin swallowed hard then.

It was no wonder, really. Rin couldn’t blame Gou at all.

“Rei’s a great choice for a boyfriend,” Rin told her later, after dinner. He cleared his throat. “I’m… glad you two are dating.”

“Dating?” Gou squeaked. “Me and _Rei_? Definitely not. Definitely, definitely not.” She shook her head and waved her hands in front of her face.

Rin pulled his eyebrows together. “You’re not?” he said. “So what were you doing in your room alone?”

Gou’s cheeks went faintly red. “Ah,” she said. “Sometimes Rei comes over to look at my muscle photography books. He says – um, he says they’re beautiful.” She clasped her hands behind her back and rocked on her toes as Rin felt his jaw drop. “So! We’re not – you know. Compatible. If you understand what I’m saying.”

“Ah,” Rin said in a shaky voice, and grabbed the back of a chair for support. “Yeah, I get it."

It was like Rin found the last two pieces in a big jigsaw puzzle he’d been working on for a long time, and sliding them into place made him feel so relieved that it almost looped around to scary again. 

“Gou,” Rin said. “Do you know happen to know where Rei lives?”

*

Rei was surprised when Rin called and invited himself over to Rei’s house, but he didn’t seem upset. In fact, he was smiling as he opened the door and showed Rin where to put his shoes.

“You said you wanted to talk about something?” Rei asked tentatively, leading Rin to his bedroom after introducing Rin to his parents. He shut the door behind them, watching as Rin sat down on his bed.

Rin patted the spot next to him. “I don’t bite,” he said.

“Good,” Rei said, adjusting his glasses in the nervous habit Rin now knew it was. He still didn’t sit down, choosing instead to hover near his bed a little stupidly. “I’ve seen your teeth.”

“They’re not that bad!” Rin said, and laughed. He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “So how long have you known?”

Rei paused. “About what, Rin-san?”

Rin shot him an exasperated look. “Don’t play dumb. About you. About what you like.”

“Oh.” Rei let out a long breath and finally sat on the bed. He seemed to find his own knees fascinating, rubbing his hands back and forth against his thighs; Rin realized he had nice hands. “Forever, I guess. Or at least since I was little. I always noticed guys more, until I realized I _only_ noticed guys.”

“And how long have you known about me?”

Rei looked up, eyes wide. “I guess since now,” he said. He looked down again. “I suspected after… um, when you came to visit me at Iwatobi. But I didn’t want to assume.” He let out a short laugh. “Not after Nagisa-kun.”

Rin bit his lip. “Did you like Nagisa?”

“No!” Rei exclaimed. He sighed. “Well, maybe, I don’t know. But it’s not like it matters, right? Feelings can be so ugly.”

Rin moved closer until their thighs were pressed side-to-side. He noticed Rei move his head, just a little, to look at Rin’s legs instead of his own. “Feelings can be all right,” Rin said. “Once you realize you have them, at least.”

He slid a hand under Rei’s chin and tilted it up, making him look at his face. Rei’s eyes registered surprise, but he licked his lips as Rin leaned closer, and his eyes fluttered shut when Rin kissed him.

The thudding in Rin’s heart cemented what he’d suspected for a while, but just wouldn’t let himself fully believe: Rin only noticed guys, too. Now, specifically, he noticed one guy and he was now alone in his room, kissing him, and even though it was awkward and wet, Rin couldn’t believe he’d let himself go so long _without_ doing this. 

Rei broke away, laughing. “I can’t believe this is happening,” he said. “And I don’t know where to put my hands.”

At that, Rin grabbed them both and put them on the sides of his own face. “Here seems good.” 

Rei stared at him for a bit, his hands framing Rin’s face. “Beautiful,” he breathed after a moment, and they both moved in again.


End file.
